Co-op Details

Chestnut Cooperative

1302 Singer Place
Pittsburgh, PA 15221
info@chestnut.coop
Basic Info:

Chestnut Cooperative was founded by a group of CMU alum and Pittsburgh residents who got together in 2023 to find a way to address Pittsburgh's housing crisis and provide a social resource to the community. Planning for a housing cooperative began in 2024 and the Cooperative was officially incorporated in Pennsylvania in 2025. The Cooperative's main goals are to provide affordable, sustainable, democratically managed quality housing to the Greater Pittsburgh Region, especially during a time of national housing insecurity, and provide a community institution in the region that can address the social needs of the people. The Cooperative aims to service as much of Pittsburgh and the Greater Pittsburgh region as it can, including the Carnegie Mellon and University of of Pittsburgh campuses and the many communities surrounding it and in the city that sustain these campuses. Today, the Cooperative is expanding it's membership and looking for additional properties as it works towards it's goals of housing the people of Pittsburgh and providing a social service, particularly to underserved communities and communities under-threat by our political institutions.
Mission Statement:

The Chestnut Cooperative shall serve the purpose of providing democratically-controlled, affordable, and sustainable housing.
Type of Housing Offered: Single rooms, Double rooms
Number of Buildings: 1
Wheelchair Accessible:

No, currently the house construction does not allow for ADA compliancy
Open to visitors?:

Yes
Approximate Monthly Rent Including Utilities:

Cost per member, non income-scaled: $411.22 - $593.05 @ 6 members; income-scaled: $1086.12 - $326.22
Approximate Monthly Cost of Meal Plan if Applicable:

At present, communal food costs are shared amongst the house's residents on an income-scaled basis
Labor Requirements:

Basic upkeep of communal spaces (i.e. chores, etc) is the responsibility of residents and managed by each house's housing policy. The responsibility of dinner is shared amongst the membership and members are expected to contribute some labor every week to preparing a communal dinner for their house. Operating the Cooperative day-to-day is the responsibility of all members, facilitated through meetings and committees, and each member is expected to attend meetings and provide some labor to administrative, financial, or maintenance matters, primarily through committee attendance.

Once a week, a labor day is typically scheduled to handle Cooperative labor (mostly physical) tasks, including upgrades and renovations, maintenance or repairs, and large scale organizational/cleaning tasks. Members are expected to be available as much as possible for labor days to help the Cooperative move smoothly.
Shared Amenities: Communal spaces, Shared kitchen, Garden, Workshop, Shared tools, Recreational area, Parking, Washer and dryer, Wireless internet, Other
Frequency of Shared Meals:

Dinners are communally cooked most of the week, eating together happens at least once a week.